Monday, July 25, 2011

Buyers or sellers? Maybe just stand pat

First things first: I promised in the Monday print column a link to this Joe Posnanski piece on the 2013 Hall of Fame class. Promise kept.

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At this point, the Twins are better off hanging on to
Kevin Slowey than trading him.

That was an ugly start Sunday from Francisco Liriano, who pitched as if the strike zone was underground. In truth, it was an ugly series, and it left the Twins seven games behind Detroit — seven games out with three teams to climb over.

It's not an impossible task, but it is a difficult one. It's probably not worth sacrificing future assets to improve the immediate outlook. I remain reluctant to recommend the Twins go into sell mode, but I see no reason to add salary and veterans.

One move that seems to be taken for granted — that the Twins will move Kevin Slowey this week — now strikes me as a (probably) bad idea. Why?

Slowey — exiled to Triple A and bearing the whiff of a troublemaker — won't likely bring full value in a deal right now.

Kyle Gibson is apparently struggling, and the Twins are said to believe that he's wearing down. Should the big club need a starter in the next two months, Gibson is unlikely to get the call.

The Glen Perkins example should be too fresh in our minds to be eager to discard a quality arm.

I say hang on to Slowey. Let him re-establish some value in Triple A. If something happens to one of the five big league starters, stick him back in the major league rotation. It the organization really believes he's more trouble than he's worth (and let me say that I doubt that he is), the offseason is time enough to peddle him.

Had the Twins a more successful homestand, had they trimmed their deficit in the division to three games or something along those lines, dealing Slowey now might make sense. It probably doesn't now.